Who Will Be Crowned Premier League Champions?

With the penultimate game of the Barclays Premier League season less than two months away and no clear favourite for the title as of yet, we analyse what chances the three main contenders have of being crowned as champions. The three main contenders in question are Arsenal, Chelsea and current holders, Man United.

Arsene Wenger's young Gunners are currently sat in third place and four points behind leaders Man United after dropping two points in the dying moments of Saturday's fixture against Birmingham. You cannot deny Arsenal's ability to play elegant and entertaining football, but you can accuse them of lack of fight.

Times have moved on since the tough-tackling, in-your-face Arsenal teams of old, however this new generation of Gunners seem to lacking any sense of physical presence. Fancy footwork and quick passing are brilliant when you are playing against relegation doomed Portsmouth, but as Man United and Chelsea proved, when faced with a physical challenge they crumble.

After Chelsea's demolition of fourth place battlers Aston Villa, Anceloti's men are still breathing heavily down United's necks, only one point adrift of the champions. Chelsea certainly have the squad to keep them going strong throughout the title race, and without the welcomed burden of Champions League fixtures, they can stay fully focused on the Premier League. They may have dropped points recently to the likes of Blackburn, but I can't see any team picking points from them in their remaining games bar one, Man United.

The two sides meet at Old Trafford this Saturday and it could very well be a title decider. In the past these fixtures have been a case of the unstoppable force and the immovable object and everyone is left with a disappointing draw. This time however, there is one factor that could decide the result of the game and maybe the title race. Wayne Rooney. The England striker has been in world class form this season and unless Chelsea are careful, the white Pele could end their title hopes.

For me, Man United are slight favourites to win the league. Although they are only one bad result away from loosing their lead, they have the best striker in the world at the moment, the strongest squad and they have a manager that has been in this position many times and has more often than not, walked away with the league title.

Man United are currently on eighteen titles overall, level with Liverpool's record that has haunted Manchester for many years. I believe that 2010 will be the season that they set a new record for four consecutive league but more importantly to all United fans, make Liverpool's league record redundant.

Here is my predicted top four for the Barclays Premier League 2009/10 season ...

1. Manchester United

2. Chelsea

3. Arsenal

4. Tottenham